A boys' club to honour the time of the Sourdoughs and the great Pacific gold rushes.
"1955::Sourdough Boys Selling Christmas Trees in Sooke, British Columbia"
Photo Clip: Victoria Daily Times (1955)
Victoria, British Columbia
In 1953, an all-boys club was formed in Victoria, British Columbia, to honour the time of the great Pacific gold rushes and the old Sourdough miners of the Klondike. It was a different kind of club, functioning with not much more than a full schedule of activities and a roster full of kids when it graciously accepted the donation of an old, rickety truck and a lodge in the Sooke Hills for their outdoor excursions. Their world had suddenly become a whole lot bigger.
"1957::The Old Truck"
Clip: Victoria Daily Times (1957)
Victoria, British Columbia
Every other weekend, the boys and their leaders would pack themselves into their old truck and drive out to their lodge, where they'd explore deserted mine tunnels, practice archery, and learn to spot minerals in rock formations. Under the guidance of an old prospector, they'd even pan for gold on the banks of the Leech River, where a gold rush had taken place nearly a hundred years before their time. Their old, rickety truck took the boys everywhere, but it was expensive to run, and it often broke down. At Christmastime, the boys would haul Christmas trees into Sooke and Victoria and sell them to raise money to fix up the old truck they had come to depend on.
"1957::The Club's Final Days" Clip: Victoria Daily Times (1957) Victoria, British Columbia
The Sourdough Lodge Boys' Camp, formed in 1953 at Lampson Elementary School, lasted only a few years. In 1957, their old truck broke down for good, marking the club's final days together. At its peak, the club's membership accommodated over 100 youngsters, with students joining in from North Ward, South Park and James Bay schools. Although their time together was short, the boys had learned valuable life skills like the Cheechakos of long ago. Some boys even walked away with panned nuggets of gold worth almost $1.50.
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